Here is another one of the 7 new songs I performed at my latest solo show!
I don't quite have a title for this one, though "Hell It Stays In Hell" may end up being the de facto winner.
The chorus for this song came to me in a dream. I woke up singing it and recorded it on my tape recorder. I based the rest of the lyrics around it.
Musically, I felt the song was a bit standard, so I implemented a cool trick where it goes back and forth between major and minor (changing in the middle of each chorus.) So the 2nd verse is all minor chords, then back to major, etc. Fun?
Here are the lyrics.
Grab my sleeve and lead me down In the boat we'll go Pick people up along the way Drop them off and so
All the fools go up the river All the Hell it stays in Hell
Lovely ladies, angel men Never done nothing wrong Not one drop of fun in their whole life Now they're where they belong
(chorus)
Dump my body out and leave it Naked, bruised and waiting I'll be dragged in smiling While they shake their heads with pity But I don't need their pity
NEW SONGS! A few weeks ago I performed 7 new (as in: never before played live...some of these are very old) songs at a show at Gizzi's Cafe, and I will be putting a bunch of them up in the coming weeks.
This first one is called Big Delay. I actually wrote the bulk of it in around 2006/2007, but only recently finished it. It's about a very very troubled relationship I was in, that was fraught with fighting and dying to be put out of its misery.
These lyrics are VERY personal and autobiographical, more so than usual. My favorite line is "hating every word you heard," because it's a funny roundabout way of saying how bad or cold the words coming out of my mouth were throughout the relationship, but from her point of view.
The line "miles of walking nowhere" is actually in reference to a very specific event, not just a simple metaphor for the relationship. In fact every line is referencing a very specific memory. Like I said, extremely personal.
I also love the melody, the chord progression, the feel of the song...everything. I've been dying to play this live for years and I'm glad I finally did.
Here are the lyrics.
I left you crying with a fake hug Swept my feelings under the rug After all the arguments We can both agree this once
This man and woman failed They're in each other's way Miles of walking nowhere One big delay
All along I tiptoed by you Hating every word you heard And on that day in that strange city Holding hands seemed too absurd
With tired eyes and anger Kicked you out of my bed Tried to show how bad I was for you and you for me and we for us and well...
I'll be full without ever eating Spend my days in waiting rooms Anything to keep me strong Anything to last us long
